SPAR in China: Postponed until further

December 19, 2023

After having travelled around China all of November and visited some leading art milieus and cities – and taken stock of the troubles I’ve encountered since 2019 when SPAR was supposed to go to China – I have decided to postpone that darling idea. At least for the time being.

That does not mean ‘dropped forever’ but:

It means that, at least for 2024-2025, I’ll work on other options in Europe. Then, I’ll see whether something or someone appears that could help bring SPAR to China. I am in contact with a couple of places.

I write this here merely to inform my friends and supporters in Sweden and elsewhere who take an interest in SPAR’s development.

The main reasons for my decision are what I call structural factors, factors I can do little about to change:

China has many museums and art spaces but few galleries, i.e. the type of place you walk into from the street and enjoy art and have a conversation with the owner. SPAR is likely too small for a museum in China; they are often very big. I’ve always seen it as a kind of gallery exhibit.

Covid has made life difficult for many Chinese art spaces; some have given up after having been closed for two years or more.

Several art institutions and spaces I visited in China in October 2023 had rather few visitors; of course, there are more in the summer months, but I must think all-year if SPAR shall travel around for a year or more. I found many and various contemporary art venues rather empty; in a couple of cases, I was the only visitor.

Communication is difficult. In virtually all the art spaces I visited, the owner was not around; instead, you find a young person, an intern, who might connect you with an owner. Further, I do not speak Chinese, and many in the Chinese art world do not speak English, at least not enough to establish a cooperative relationship over the Sweden-China distance. Also, it requires quite precise language abilities to discuss how to physically-technically set up SPAR with its many components and artefacts; I’d probably have to be there myself.

The places that have opened up after Covid have queues of future exhibitions that they’ve had to postpone. I’d be happy if I could get an exhibition going in 2025.

Concerning financing such a project, I am too old to seek scholarships and I also have no education in art that a scholarship application would require. I cannot finance this expensive project with my private funds. For instance, just to ship SPAR to China – about 300 kilos – costs around US $ 6000; then comes exhibition costs at each place, insurance, my own travels back and forth and costs of staying, etc. A minimum budget would easily run into US$ 100,000 – 120,000.

China has a considerable bureaucracy; strict rules apply to the import and export of art – in this case, goods that are not for sale and shall leave China again. Special agencies handle such cases, but it would be difficult for a private person to handle the paperwork without a local agency. Every exhibition must also pass a censorship check; however, I don’t think it would hit SPAR. Without an agency that knows how to handle such issues, it’s not an easy piece of cake.

I do not have such an agency or anyone to assist me with all the practical problem-solving. I would need an agency or curatorial assistance of people with solid experience in getting an exhibition into, being shown and travelling around in China. I’ve not come across any such agency or person.

Finally – and perhaps most importantly – I’ve come to think of this: Who really needs to learn about world order change, the rise of the East and the decline of the West and the Belt & Road Initiative, BRI – which is what SPAR is about? Well, certainly not the Chinese.

From a dialogue and public education viewpoint, it is probably more relevant to show SPAR to various European audiences, which are fed daily by their media and politicians with only negative views of China. SPAR is a thoroughly constructive piece of art depicting China in a positive light with a documented potential to open up enlightened dialogue about the future of our world.

Let’s see what that future brings!